At yesterday’s WWDC event, Apple introduced the iPhone 5c – on of the two unveiled smartphones. Based on latest reports and leeks, we all thought that the iPhone 5c will be a cheap, plastic iPhone heading for the mid-end market. However, you have probably changed your mind when the price was announced. $549 off-contract is cheaper than iPhone 5s but not so cheap we all believed it will be. So what’s the point? Let me cut it short for you. If Apple was up to follow the tradition, after the launch of iPhone 5s, its predecessor would be $100 off, selling exactly for $549. Apple wanted to give customers a whole new experience at the same price the iPhone 5 would be. Here comes the iPhone 5c, which is a ‘high-end’ plastic phone with iPhone 5’s internals.
Design
As expected, iPhone 5c features an unibody, polycarbonate construction, which means multiple parts has been reduced to a single component. Apple and plastic? Well, John Ive describes it as “beautifully, unapolegetically plastic”, and its true. The phone feels extremely solid and hand-friendly. It’s more like a polished metal phone than a usual plastic one the market is full of. Lets hope this phone it’s scratch-resistant, because the shiny look it’s got is absolutely charming.
The main feature of the iPhone 5c is its colors. It is available in 5 colors: blue, white, pink, green and yellow. We got to say that the colors look vibrant and really nice.
iOS 7 comes with a nifty trick making it possible to match the wallpaper with the outer shell of the phone.
On top of that, Apple announced new silicone cases that allow you to customize your iPhone 5c even more. You can achieve over 25 color combinations and a better protected phone as well. The case has a $29 price tag, which Apple is sure will determine people to buy more than one at a time.
Hardware
As we mentioned before, the iPhone 5c has iPhone 5’s parts put in a new colored frame. The result is a phone that is just as fast as the iPhone 5, which is just enough for the next few years.
Battery life
Apple said this phone has an “impressive battery life”. Comparing the numbers to the iPhone 5, it appears to be right. iPhone 5c got extra 2 hours for LTE browsing and extra 25 hours of stand-by.
Price
iPhone 5c is available in 16GB and 32GB versions. Unfortunately, you’ll have to get an iPhone 5s if you need 64GB.
| 16GB | 32GB | |
| On 2-year contract | $99 | $199 |
| Off contract | $459 | $559 |
We can’t wait to see how this phone will sell and how it will stack against its price-range rivals. It’s just a pity the iPhone 5c isn’t $50 cheaper, but anyway we think it should appeal to younger consumers and mid-end market consumers as well. Tell us what you think of this shiny-colored phone in the comment section below.
Apple iPhone 5c Review